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The founder of Chick-fil-A passed away, 47 years after he founded
the chicken chain.

On Monday, Chick-fil-A announced that its founder S. Truett Cathy
died at age 93. Cathy served as the chairman and CEO of
Chick-fil-A until 2013, when his oldest son, Dan, took on the
role. Cathy continued in the position of chairman emeritus until
his death.

In 1946, Cathy opened a small diner in an Atlanta suburb. The
diner served as his inspiration for Chick-fil-A, which he founded
in 1967. Today, there are more than 1,800 Chick-fil-A restaurants
in 40 states.

The Southern chain will retain the mark of its founder's personal
beliefs as Dan Cathy continues to head the company. One of the
most enduring and well-known embodiments of Cathy's convictions
is Chick-fil-A's "Closed-on-Sunday" policy, which requires every
restaurant to only operate six days a week for practical and
spiritual reasons.

While Chick-fil-A gained the respect of Christian customers with
its Sunday policy, the Cathys have also drawn criticism for their
socially conservative views. In 2012, the company made headlines
when Dan Cathy condemned same-sex marriage and it was uncovered
that the company donated millions to groups that oppose marriage
equality. The company has recently distanced itself from the
controversy, with Chick-fil-A's CEO telling USA Today earlier this year that
"all of us become more wise as time goes by," and, "I'm going
to leave it to politicians and others to discuss social
issues."

"I'd like to be remembered as one who kept my priorities in the
right order," was a frequent line from Truett Cathy, according to
Chick-fil-A's website. "We live in a
changing world, but we need to be reminded that the important
things have not changed."

Today, Chick-fil-A is changing – though, not in the areas Cathy
valued the most. The company says that Chick-fil-A will remain
privately owned and closed on Sundays. However, it is expanding,
especially in urban areas where restaurants will feature more
natural wood and chef's coats instead of traditional uniforms. It
added specialty-grade
coffee to the menu in August and rolled out a new grilled
chicken recipe earlier this year.

As it evolves, Chick-fil-A is thriving. The chain recently became
the largest quick-service chicken restaurant chain based on
annual system-wide sales, with the company reporting that it
reached $5 billion in annual sales in 2013. Ultimately, however,
the company's success is built on Cathy's decades of work:
Chick-fil-A claims that the founder led the chain through 47
consecutive years of annual sales increases in his
lifetime.